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Design of an automated Poly-Vinyl Chloride (PVC) Pipe cutting Machine
Thandolwenkosi E Ncube
University of Zimbabwe Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Johannesburg Department of Quality and Operations Management Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment Post Office Box APB524 Bunting Road Campus
The use of automated machines proves that they give a higher production rate than the manual production rate. The background of this study showed that the use of PVC pipes is very broad, varying from small scale residential use to large scale industrial use in water treatment plants. Subsequently, many ways of cutting PVC pipes are employed, with many of them being manual operations. These have proved to be laborious, time consuming and inaccurate. The designed machine to be used will ultimately reduce the total time required for the entire cutting operation and increase the production rate. The researcher and supervisor visited Pro-Plastics (a giant in the Plastics Industry in Zimbabwe) to better understand high technology PVC pipe manufacture and cutting mechanics. Three concepts were generated for the proposed solution to this project. This study was conducted with the use of SolidWorks for generating and developing the assembly of the chosen concept. SMT Client was used to automate the feeding, clamping and cutting processes according to a batch requirement. The generated model was within the required specifications for a machine to be used by small-medium scale entrepreneurs because of its size and low cost. The study showed that this machine will reduce the amount of chips formed during the process when comparing to manual methods without compromising the quality and precision of the cut. The PLC that was programmed has timers to control the feeding, clamping and cutting processes. The research was concluded with recommendations on how the safety of this machine may be increased.
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5 Biographies
Thandolwenkosi E Ncube is a female who was born in Bulawayo at Mater Dei Hospital. She accomplished her primary level at Portland Primary School in Colleen Bawn in 2008. She studied at Anderson Adventist High school and during form 5 was one of two students in the Midlands Province who were awarded a scholarship by Zimbabwe Power Company which funded her from Advanced Level up to and including her undergraduate studies at the University of Zimbabwe in Mechanical engineering. She developed a profound interest in Condition Monitoring and Fuzzy Logic Systems under the guidance of Dr. T Mushiri. Thandolwenkosi is particularly interested in the design and maintenance field of the Mechanical Engineering discipline and aspires to one day be part of a team which will spearhead the innovative design and upkeep of more efficient and technologically advanced equipment in thermal power generation.
Dr. Tawanda Mushiri received his Bachelor of Science Honors Degree in Mechanical Engineering (2004-2008) and a Masters in Manufacturing Systems and Operations Management (MSc. MSOM) (2011-2012) from the University of Zimbabwe, Harare, and a Ph.D. from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa (2013-2017). He also obtained a Certificate with Siemens in Programmable Logic Controllers in the year 2013 where he worked with SCADA and PLC Programming. His doctorate involved fuzzy logic and automated machinery monitoring and control. Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer and Senior Research Associate at the University of Zimbabwe and
University of Johannesburg, respectively. In the past (2012-2013), he has also lectured at the Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe, lecturing mechatronics courses. He has also been an assistant lecturer for undergraduate
Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Washington DC, USA, September 27-29, 2018